Intel confirms product name changes

Over a year ago, we heard about Intel's plans to drop the Pentium name from its products, retiring what was one of the biggest marketing slogans of computing history. Now, nearly two years after that name drop, Intel has confirmed plans to shuffle the names of their existing product line as well.

Intel will be consolidating some names, converting the Centrino label from its current myriad to simply two different names, one for “consumers” and the other for businesses. The Core 2 line name will stay, though systems sold with certain Intel labels will have a name change to help people understand what is inside them easier:

In its desktop portfolio, Intel will update both its Viiv and its vPro brands to better reflect which processor is being used with the platform. For example, the label for a PC using a quad-core desktop processor with vPro will now be Intel Core 2 Quad with vPro Technology instead of the PC just carrying the vPro or Viiv name and logo. None of the changes will affect their roadmaps for CPUs or their target markets. It is merely a name change, which will begin in January.